Assyrian Genocide Documentary to Be Aired in Cyprus

9. March 2017 - 16:42

In this 1919 photo released by the Armenian National Archives shows victims of the “Great Slaughter” in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. The sign reads: Some of the Armenians, who were killed and brought to the Armenian Relief Hospital during the massacre of Feb. 28th 1919 at Aleppo. Violence against Armenian centers in eastern regions of the dying Ottoman Empire spiked over the summer 1915. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians deemed subversive to the empire _ as many as 1.5 million, by many accounts _ died in what is today eastern Turkey. Most were driven into the deserts of Syria and Iran, over the mountains into the southern Caucasus, into disease and starvation, hounded and attacked by maurauding soldiers, Turkish and others.(AP Photo/Armenian National Archives, HO).

Cypriotic state broadcaster CYBY has announced it will air the documentary film “Seyfo 1915 – The Assyrian Genocide” on March 8 on the RIK2 channel. The documentary had its premiere in 2015, marking the centennial commemoration of the Assyrian genocide. The film sparked headlines in 2016 when it was revealed the Turkish embassy in Sweden had tried to persuade Swedish channel TV4 not to air it (AINA 2016-04-26). The official Turkish policy is built on denial of genocide claims by Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks. The documentary was directed by Assyrian filmmaker Aziz Said of Germany and produced by the Assyrian Federation of Sweden; it has been screened in theaters across Europe, raising awareness about the Assyrian genocide.